Give them meaningful work and you’ll be surprised by the results

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Casey Tong

Editor’s Note: Honolulu resident, Punahou graduate and UCLA student Casey Tong interned with PBN for 10 weeks this summer as part of a program sponsored by the Society for Professional Journalists Hawaii chapter. Her editors asked her to share her thoughts at the conclusion of her internship.

Intern.

It may not sound like much, but it can be huge, both for me and for employers.

Ten weeks ago, I swapped college sweatshirts for dress clothes and a cubicle at PBN, with a bird’s-eye view of the Honolulu business community.

I was nervous, because there’s nothing worse than sitting around, not knowing what you’re supposed to do.

But fortunately, I came under the guidance of a veteran PBN editor who got his own start as an intern more than 40 years ago.

He gave me a clear message: You are a reporter, not an intern who will be out the door at the end of summer.

I was welcomed at story meetings, and forced to pitch my own content, just like the other reporters.

I was given notepads, a computer, and a dreaded phone, in a newsroom where everyone could hear your calls.

I remember my first call. As I dialed, the newsroom became eerily silent as others gauged me. I could feel them listening.

I got aggressive, pushing an interviewee who I thought was questionable. He hung up.

The silence in the newsroom was deafening.

My colleagues shared my pain and encouraged me, and the calls became easier as I found my voice. I talked to successful business executives and entrepreneurs, and learned that they are just people like the rest of us. It became easier when I realized that, one day, my friends and classmates will be those very people.

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